
Glass 'BV \ 6 



Book. 



M a. 



Comfort for m Bereaved 



BY 



WILLIAM E. MCLENNAN 



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CINCTNNATT: CRANSTON & CURTS 

NEW YORK: HUNT & EATON 

1894 



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COPYRIGHT 
BY CRANSTON df CURTS, 

J894. 



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|HE Spirit of the lyord God is upon me ; 
Gp> because the Lord hath anointed me to 
preach good tidings unto the meek; he 
hath sent me to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to proclaim liberty to the cap- 
tives, and the opening of the prison to 
them that are bound ; to proclaim the 
acceptable year of the Lord, and the day 
of vengeance of our God; to comfort all 
that mourn; to appoint unto them that 
mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty 
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
the garment of praise for the spirit of 
heaviness ; that they might be called 
Trees of righteousness, The planting of 
the lyord, that he might be glorified. 
(Isaiah lxi,i-3.) 

I will turn their mourning into joy, 
and will comfort them, and make them 
rejoice from their sorrow. (Jer. xxxi, 13.) 
— 4 — 



r^WFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



l4 

BLESSED are they that mourn,'' 
We look at the face of the dear 
one whom death has taken, and, 
with heavy hearts, repeat those 
J^ words of Jesus, wondering in what 
their blessedness consists. Be patient. 
In his own good time the Divine Author 
of those words — he who experienced to 
the full the beatitude of sorrow — will 
verify in you his own blessed truth. 
You shall be comforted. Accept the 
Lord's promise as though it were true. 



jl^ATHER, I will that they also, whom 
^ thou hast given me, be with me where I 
am; that they may behold my glory, 
which thou hast given me: for thou 
lovedst me before the foundation of the 
world. (John xvii, 24.) 

O taste and see that the Lord is good: 
blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 
(Psalm xxxiv, 8.) 

Whoso is wise and will observe these 
things, even they shall understand the 
loving-kindness of the Lord. (Psalm 
cvii, 43.) 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



When he says ** Blessed are they that 
mourn,'' let not your heart say, It can 
not be true. Believe the beatitude, not 
alone because he who uttered it is divine, 
and therefore can not err, but because, 
suffering greater than all others, he was 
the most blessed of all. 

The secret of the blessedness which 
was our Lord's continually is an open 
secret. He believed God; believed in 
his existence, power, wisdom, and love. 
He believed that God can do all things 
he chooses to do, and that he chooses to 
do only what is right. Believing that, 
and believing that God permits sorrow 
and suffering and death, he believed that 
sorrow and suffering and death are right. 
Hence, in the darkest hour of his life, 



> KNOW, O Lord, that thy judgments are 

> right, and that thou in faithfulness hast 
afflicted me. (Psalm cxix, 75.) 

For whom the Lord loveth he correct- 
eth; even as a father the son in whom he 
delighteth. (Prov. iii, 12.) 

But thou, O Lord, art a God full of com- 
passion, and gracious, longsufFering, and 
plenteous in mercy and truth. (Psalm 
Ixxxvi, 15.) 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



believing fully that God^s way is the best 
way, he could say, '^Not my will, but 
thine be done.'' We believe that God 
exists. We are not Atheists; yet are 
the horrors of atheism to be preferred 
to that awful though often unconscious 
skepticism which, while allowing the 
existence of God, doubts his goodness. 
Is it or is it not true, my sorrowing 
friend, that God is good? Of that fact 
can there be even the shadow of a 
doubt? He must be good. A Spirit of 
infinite power and wisdom who was 
not good would be an infinite mon- 
ster, not a God. God is good; God is 
love. He is good every second of every 
minute of every hour of every day. 
Before you can experience the truth of 



JN all their affliction lie was afflicted, and 

^ the Angel of his presence saved them: in 

his love and in his pity he redeemed 

them ; and he bare them, and carried them 

all the days of old. (Isaiah Ixiii, 9.) 

The lyOrd hath appeared of old unto me, 
saying. Yea, I have loved thee with an 
everlasting love: therefore with loving- 
kindness have I drawn thee. (Jeremiah 
xxxi, 3.) 

As many as I love, I rebuke and chas- 
ten. (Rev. iii, 19.) 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



the beatitude of sorrow you must settle 
once for all this glorious and most rea- 
sonable truth, for it is fundamental. If 
unsettled or carelessly held, there is 
and can be no comfort when we mourn. 
It may be thought that a belief in God's 
goodness should be taken for granted. 
My own experience is that, even among 
professed Christians, it is rarely held. 
How often, standing beside their dead, 
have I heard from mourning lips these 
words, the confession of their latent 
doubt, *^Why should God have taken 
the one I so much loved?'' ^^We were 
so happy together, why should we be 
parted?" '^ If God is good, how could he 
have afflicted me thus?" Have you not, 
dear reader, heard expressions similar to 



^UT when they in their trouble did turn 
unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought 
him, he was found of them. (2 Chron. 
XV, 4.) 

In the time of their trouble, when 
they cried unto thee, thou heardest them 
from heaven; and according to thy man- 
ifold mercies thou gavest them saviors, 
who saved them out of the hand of their 
enemies. (Neh. ix, 2']!) 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



these? Have you not, indeed, uttered 
them yourself; or, if you did not give 
them utterance, did you not think them 
in your heart? You need not answer. 
Make your confession to Him who, in 
spite of doubts which pierced his heart, 
loveth you still. Say to him that you 
will never again doubt his goodness, no 
matter what betide. Say to yourself 
over and over again: ^'He hath done all 
things well.'' Then, and only then, can 
you be comforted. 

"Blessed are they that mourn.'' He 
that truly mourns is truly humble, and 
humility is the threshold of the Palace 
Beautiful. Pride is a deceitful and in- 
sidious sin. It darkens the mind to 

the truth. It is stubborn, self-sufficing, 
— 13 — 



jpB brought down their heart with labor; 
i?p> the}^ fell down and there w^as none to 
help. Then they cried unto the Lord 
in their trouble, and he saved them out 
of their distresses. (Psalm cvii, 12, 13.) 

If we suffer, we shall also reign with 
him. (2 Tim. ii, 12.) 

That the trial of your faith, being 
much more precious than of gold that 
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 
might be found unto praise and honor 
and glory at the appearing of Jesus 
Christ, (i Peter i, 7.) 
— 14 — 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



selfish. It takes the highest place at the 
feast, and flaunts its baubles in all faces. 
It is always saying through its victim : 
"I thank thee, Lord, that I am not as 
other men.'' Trouble comes. It pierces 
the garments of pride. The heart is 
touched and overpowered. In the dust 
of contrition the sorrowing soul, once 
too proud to see its need, now bowed be- 
neath its load of sin and misery, cries 
out, /* God be merciful to me a sinner.'' 
And God is merciful. Long had he 
waited for that soul to turn. Finally, as 
a last resort, he sent his messenger, 
whose earthly name is Trouble, and 
Pride, man's greatest enemy, is slain. 
The soul mourns, and heaven rejoices, 

and a sweet voice whispers: "Blessed 
— 15 — 



T^ORD, make me to know m.ine end, and the 
^i^ measure of my days, wliat it is; that I 

may know how frail I am. Behold, thou 

hast made my days as a handbreadth ; 

and mine age is as nothing before thee. 

(Psalm xxxix, 4, 5.) 

For whether we live, we live unto the 
lyord; and whether we die, we die unto 
the Lord: whether we live therefore or 
die we are the Lord's. For to this end 
Christ both died, and rose, and revived, 
that he might be Lord both of the dead 
and living. (Rom. xiv, 8, 9.) 
— 16 — 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



are they that mourn, for they shall be 
comforted. Rise and go in peace. He 
that humbleth himself shall be exalted.'' 
But it is not the proud alone who are 
called to mourn. God's dearest saints 
are forced to drink the cup of suffer- 
ing. Jesus was the perfect type of hu- 
mility, yet he suffered as no other of the 
children of men. He was poor; he 
was hungry; he was weary; he was mis- 
understood, maligned, threatened, be- 
trayed; he endured the awful agonies of 
Gethsemane and of Calvary. And why? 
Because he was made like unto his 
brethren. It pleased God to give his 
brethren a probation, because a proba- 
tion was right and necessary. Hence a 

probation was necessary for Christ; for 
B — 17 — 



,^OT|ND we know that all things work to- 
gether for good to them that love God, 
to them who are the called according to 
his purpose. (Rom. viii, 28.) 

He will swallow up death in victory; 

and the Lord God will wipe away tears 

from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his 

people shall he take away from off all 

the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. 

(Isaiah xxv, 8.) 

— 18— 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



he was a man, be assured, in every sense 
of that term. The ideal man is at first 
a child. Childhood is not manhood. 
To pass from one to the other necessarily 
involves the choice and maintenance of 
what is best. The possibility of choos- 
ing what is not best constitutes man's 
trial. As a man, Jesus had to be tried. 
Even he — we may say it reverently be- 
cause we say it truthfully — even he 
could not have the results of probation 
without the probation itself. Had there 
been no trial, there would have been no 
manhood. As well expect the eagle to 
soar to heaven without atmosphere as to 
attain manhood without trial. The prob- 
lem has been immeasurably complicated 

by the fact that man has not been true 
— 19 — 



»0 when this corruptible shall have put on 
incorruption, and this mortal shall have 
put on immortality, then shall be brought 
to pass the saying that is written, Death 
is swallowed up in victory. O death, 
where is thy sting? O grave, where is 
thy victory? (i Cor. xv, 54, 55.) 

Except the lyord build the house, they 
labor in vain that build it : except the 
Lord keep the city, the watchman wak- 
eth but in vain. It is vain for you to 
rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the 
bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his 
beloved sleep. (Psa. cxxvii, i, 2.) 



COAIFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



to his destiny. He has fallen; and with 
his fall has come a long tiain of evils by 
which and through which God proclaims 
to man the awfulness of sin. Death is 
one of these. Wliy death comes to saint 
as well as sinner, is a question similar to 
that of the transmission of a fallen na- 
ture. I am not guilty for the sin of my 
ancestors yet I experience its effects. 
Had I never chosen to sin, I should still 
have to die. The whole subject is so 
complicated that our human understand- 
ing can pick out but a few of the strands, 
and even these seem tangled. All we can 
say is, that He who is too wise to err, too 
good to be unkind, has done all for the 
best. To convince us that this world, 
with all its seeming contradictions — its 

— 21 — 



^F the world hate you, ye know that it 
^ hated me before it hated you. If ye were 
of the world, the world would love his 
own; but because 3'e are not of the world, 
but I have chosen you out of the world, 
therefore the world hateth you. Remem- 
ber the word that I said unto you, The 
servant is not greater than his lord. If 
they have persecuted me, they will also 
persecute you; if they have kept my say- 
ing, they will keep yours also. But all 
these things will they do unto you for my 
name's sake, because they know not him 
that sent me. (John xv, 18-21.) 
— 22 — 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



sicknesess, its sorrows, its bereavements — 
is still his world, and that those who put 
their trust in him shall not, in the end, 
be put to shame, God sent his own Son, 
who, by being poor, demonstrated that 
poverty is not in itself a curse; by suf- 
fering hunger and weariness and phys- 
ical pain, that the ills of the flesh are not 
misfortunes; by being the victim of hate, 
that man's malignity can not harm; by 
dying, that death has no sting, the grave 
no victory. On the other hand, Jesus 
proved conclusively by his life, that the 
apostle's words are true, that ^* all things 
work together for good to them that love 
God.'' This world is not as God would 
have it, for it is not yet regenerated. 

But with all its sin it is still his, and 
--23 — 



KT us run with patience the race that is 
^ set before us, looking unto Jesus, the 
author and the finisher of our faith ; who 
for the joy that was set before him en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame, 
and was set down at the right hand of 
the throne of God. For consider him 
that endured such contradiction of sin- 
ners against himself, lest ye be wearied 
and faint in your minds. (Heb. xii, 1-3.) 
— 24 — 



Comfort for the bereaved. 



it is working out the good of his crea- 
tures. 

*'The year 's at the spring, 
And day 's at the morn; 
Morning 's at seven, 

The hillside's dew-pearled; 
The lark 's on the wing ; 
The snail 's on the thorn; 
God 's in his heaven — 

All 's right w^ith the world." 

We may not share the exuberant op- 
timism of these lines, but we can, at 
least, say, all 's right with the righteous ; 
and all is right in God's dealings with 
you and yours. Believe it, for it is abso- 
lutely, unequivocally true. Had it been 
yours to command, your dear one would 
be with you still. But God is too wise, 
too good, to put such great matters into 

the hands of weak and erring creatures 
— 25 — 



^ShB Lord iipholdeth all that fall, and rais- 
(S^ eth up all those that be bowed down. 
(Psa. cxlv, 14.) 

He telleth the number of the stars ; he 
calleth them all by their names. (Psa. 
cxlvii, 4.) 

Are not five sparrows sold for two far- 
things, and not one of them is forgotten 
before God? But even the very hairs of 
your head are all numbered. Fear not 
therefore: ye are of more value thau 
many sparrows. (Luke xii, 6, 7.) 
— 26 — 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



such as yoii and me. Loving us with infi- 
nite love, he watches over lis with infinite 
care. It was this truth our Lord sought 
to teach to his disciples when he was 
about to send them out into a cold and 
unsympathetic world. Everything would 
seem to be at cross purposes, and they 
would be tempted to ask if God had not 
deserted the world altogether, themselves 
included. So, to forestall such question- 
ing, Christ tells them that they are going 
out as sheep in the midst of wolves. 
They will be hated, they will be perse- 
cuted. But let them not forget that he, 
their Master, was hated and persecuted, 
and ^^the disciple is not above his mas- 
ter, nor the servant above his lord." Fi- 
nally, as a lesson never to be forgotten, let 
— 27 — 



^B calleth his own sheep by name, and 
leadeth them out. (John x, 3.) 

Your Father knoweth what things ye 

have need of before ye avSk him. (Matt. 

vi, 8.) 

— 28 — 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



them remember that not even the spar- 
row shall fall to the ground without the 
Father. *^Fear ye not therefore/* con- 
cludes our Lord ;^^ ye are of more value 
than many sparrows.'' Study the logic 
of the Lord's words: If God cares for 
sparrows, whose value is so small, how 
much greater is his care for you, whose 
soul has been redeemed by the precious 
blood of Christ, whose destiny is forever 
united to his own ! God cares for spar- 
rows, and yet the sparrow falls. And 
God cares for you and yours, and yours 
has fallen, and you, too, shall fall, but 
not without ^'your Father.'' Can not 
you say in this dark hour of your be- 
reavement, as you have said many times 

before, hardly knowing the deep signifi- 
— 29 — 



cHEN were there brought unto him little 
> children, that he should put his hands on 
them, and pray: and the disciples re- 
buked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little 
children, and forbid them not, to come 
unto me; for of such is the kingdom of 
heaven. And he laid his hands on them, 
and departed thence. (Matt, xix, 13-15.) 

After this manner therefore pray ye: 
Our Father which art in heaven, Hal- 
lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. 
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in 
heaven. (Matt, vi, 9, 10.) 
— 30 — 



Comfort for the Bereaved. 



cance of the words, ^'Thy will be done 

in earth as it is in heaven?^* Say it as 

did our Lord in the garden, under the 

shadow of his greatest trial, and some 

messenger of heaven sent of God will 

minister unto you. 

You tried to keep your loved one a 

little longer. That was natural, and, 

from the human standpoint, right. Our 

Lord prayed that he might be spared the 

final cup of suffering. But it was not 

God's will, it was not right, to spare, 

and Jesus hastened to say, '^ Not my will, 

but Thine, be done.'' It was not God's 

will to spare you ; neither would it have 

been right. And now that God's will 

has been so plainly shown, can not you 

say, '^It is well?" 

— 31 — 



jAVID therefore besought God for the 
» child: and David fasted, and went in, 
and la}^ all night upon the earth. And 
the elders of his house arose, and went 
to him, to raise him up from the earth: 
but he would not, neither did he eat 
bread with them. And it came to pass 
on the seventh day, that the child died. 
And the servants of David feared to tell 
him that the child was dead: for they 
said. Behold, while the child was yet 
alive, we spake unto him, and he would 
not hearken unto our voice: how will he 
then vex himself, if we tell him that the 
child is dead? But when David saw 
that his servants whispered, David per- 
ceived that the child was dead : therefore 
David said unto his servants, Is the 
child dead? And they said, He is dead. 
— 32 — 



Comfort for the bereaved. 



Has the little blossom of your home, 
the sweet child whose coming brought 
you the perfume of another world, been 
taken? Turn to Judea, and behold that 
most touching scene in all the life of 
Jesus. ''They brought young children 
to him, that he should touch them. And 
he took them in his arms, put his hands 
upon them, and blessed them." Those 
who brought the children gave them 
over into the arms of Christ without a 
tremor. They knew that face, they 
trusted in those arms. That same Mas- 
ter, mourning one, has called your child, 
and has taken it into his arms, not for a 
moment's blessing and caress, but for 
eternal joys. Can not you trust those 

arms? ''Of such'' — of such as yours — 
— 33 — 



mEN David arose from the earth, and 
Gf^ washed^ and anointed himself, and 
changed his apparel, and came into the 
house of the lyord, and worshiped: then 
he came to his own house ; and when he 
required, they set bread before him, and 
he did eat. Then said his servants unto 
him. What thing is this that thou hast 
done? thou didst fast and weep for the 
child, while it was alive; but when the 
child was dead, thou didst rise and eat 
bread. And he said. While the child 
was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I 
said, Who can tell whether God will be 
gracious to me, that the child may live? 
But now he is dead, wherefore should I 
fast? can I bring him back again? I shall 
go to him, but he shall not return to me. 
(2 Sam. xii, 16-23.) 

— 34 — 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



"is the kingdom of heaven.'' Christ's 
arms are heaven. Folded by them, your 
child will be safely kept from all alarms, 
awaiting your coming when the day is 
done, and the beckoning hand and the 
calling voice tell you that your work is 
done. Is it a beloved brother or sister 
whose departure you now mourn? Re- 
call that scene at Bethany. Mary and 
Martha, dear friends of Jesus, are about 
to part with an only brother. They send 
a message to Christ, saying: '^He whom 
thou lovest is sick.'* The Lord hurries 
not to Bethany. On the contrary, he 
prolongs his stay. At last he comes, 
and the sisters almost chidingly say: 
"If thou hadst been here, our brother 

had not died.'' How human, yet how 
— 35 — 



StpESUS saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise 
again. Martha saith unto him, I know 
that he shall rise again in the resurrec- 
tion at the last day. Jesus said unto her, 
I am the resurrection, and the life: he 
that believeth in me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever 
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. 
(Johnxi, 23-25.) 

— 36 — 



Comfort for the bereaved. 



mistaken their judgment! Christ was 
never so near, never so thoughtful of 
their need, as during their bereavement. 
That sickness, that death, was ^^for the 
glory of God, that the Son of God 
might be glorified thereby.'' With the 
trouble of the sisters he was troubled; 
with their tears he mingled his own ; yet 
*'for the glory of God," and for the high- 
est good of the bereaved, he suffered 
Lazarus to die. 

Has a loved and tried companion gone 
from you? Murmur not, but rather 
give thanks to God that you were privi- 
leged to enjoy that companionship so 
long. He it was that made the union 

possible. His truth declared it, solem- 

— 37 — 



ySlND the Lord God said, It is not good that 
the man should be alone; 1 will make 
him a help meet for him. (Gen. ii, i8.) 

And said, For this cause shall a man 
leave father and mother, and shall 
cleave to his wife: and they twain shall 
be one flesh? Wherefore they are no 
more twain, but one flesh. What there- 
fore God hath joined together, let not 
man put asunder. (Matt, xix, 5, 6.) 

A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge 
of the widows, is God in his holy habi- 
tation. (Psa. Ixviii, 5.) 

-38- 



Comfort for the bereaved. 



nized it, secured and made it permanent. 
To the widow God has given many of 
his sweetest promises. They will be all 
fulfilled in you, if you do not frustrate, 
by unfaith and impatience, the unfolding 
of God's beneficent plan. 

Are you fatherless or motherless? 
Then the Lord will take you up. Like 
Abraham, you may have to go out, not 
knowing whither you go. God knows. 
All lands are his, and all hearts are open 
to him. He will not leave you comfort- 
less. As you came to father and mother, 
come now to God. Talk to him as you 
did to your earthly father. Pillow your 
head upon him as you did on mother's 

breast. 

— 39 — 



IREAVE thy fatherless children, I will pre- 
'<^^ serve them alive ; and let thy widows 
trust in me. (Jer. xlix, ii.) 

The Lord preserveth the strangers; he 
relieveth the fatherless. (Psa. cxlvi, 9.) 

When my father and my mother forsake 
me, then the Lord will take me up. (Psa. 
xxvii, 10.) 

As one whom his mother comforteth, 
so will I comfort you. (Isa. Ixvi, 13.) 
— 40 — 



COMFORT FOR THE BEREAVED. 



** Speak to Him, thou, for he hears, 
And Spirit with spirit can meet; 
Nearer is He than breathing, 

And closer than hands and feet." 

O feel, tHou sorrowing one, the pres- 
ence of thy God! He has been speak- 
ing to thee all thy days. He has spoken 
again through thy bereavement. When 
Jesus returned to Bethany after the 
death of Lazarus, the message to the 
mourning Martha was: "The Master 
has come, and calleth for thee.'' He has 
come again, and calleth thee. Thou hast 
a heart to comfort; thou hast a crown to 
win; thou hast a song to sing among 
the redeemed forever; yes, thou hast a 
glorious company of saved and purified 
souls awaiting thee when thy day is 



|HE fear of the Lord is the instruction of 
(^ wisdom; and before honor is humility. 
(Prov. XV, 33.) 

Pride goeth before destruction, and a 
haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is 
to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, 
than to divide the spoil with the proud. 
(Prov. xvi, 18, 19.) 

Be ye clothed with humility: for God 
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to 
the humble. Humble yourselves there- 
fore under the mighty hand of God, that 
he may exalt you in due time, (i Pet. 
V, 5, 6.) 

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd : 
he shall gather the lambs with his arm, 
and carry them in his bosom. (Isa. 

xl, II.) 

— 42 — 



Comfort for the bereaved. 



done, and the silent reaper has brought 
thee home. The Master has come. 
Listen! He calleth thee. On his 
bosom learn the secret joys of suffering. 
There, know how the mourner is for- 
ever comforted. 

— 43 — 



^ND Jesus answered them, saying, The 
hour is come that the Son of mar; 
should be glorified. Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, Except a corn of wheat 
fall into the ground and die, it abideth 
alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth 
much fruit. He that loveth his life shall 
lose it; and he that hateth his life in 
this world vShall keep it unto life eternal. 
If any man serve me let him follow me ; 
and where I am, there shall also my 
servant be. (John xii, 23-26.) 

The grass withereth, the flower fa- 
deth: but the word of our God shall 
stand forever. (Isa. xl, 8.) 
— 44— 



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